Game ON!
The professional sports world kept quiet for six days following the horrific attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon last week.
There were no homeruns from Barry Bonds, who is chasing Mark McGwire's single season record of 70, no birdies off the clubs of Tiger Woods and no reason to just plop down in front of your television set on Sunday, with some pizza and beer, as the National Football League canceled all action set to be played in Week Two.
Were the decisions to cancel all sporting events logical and correct? You bet they were! Thousands of people are either missing, injured or deceased, and sports are probably the last thing on the minds of those related and affected by this tragedy.
And guess what ... athletes are not all the pre-madonnas we all make them out to be. The Chicago White Sox were in New York to play the Yankees when the Twin Towers fell. With the termination of air traffic for two days, the White Sox had to take a chartered bus home.
One player was quoted as saying, "Within ten minutes of a flight, if a guy doesn't have the soft drink he wants in his hand he is making a big deal out of it." When spoken to after the long 15 hour bus ride, the same player responded, "Not one guy complained the whole ride home ... and believe me, it was a real long ride."
Another team, the Texas Rangers, traveled over 30 hours by bus to return home from California. Again, no complaints.
Ultimately though, we all know that resuming the "normal life" and its daily occurrences must happen at one point or another. Major League Baseball re-opened its stadium gates on Monday; the NFL will resume action this coming weekend with its Week Three schedule.
Attendance will more than likely not be sold out crowds right away. No one expects them to be. At this point, players and teams just want to get out onto the field and provide as much comfort, if any, to those who love to watch them play.
These athletes know that they aren't the real heroes in our lives.
Though from New York personally, I extremely dislike and root against the Mets. But there was no time before last Monday and Tuesday that I was more proud of the Mets.
Led by John Franco and Mike Piazza, the Mets dawned the caps of the NYPD and FDNY atop their heads as opposed to their customary interlocking NY in blue and orange.
They realize that though they can make a kid smile with a homerun or a strikeout, they are just ballplayers. Its the firemen and police officers who not only risked their lives, but the many that lost their lives in attempts to save others that are the heroes. It is the thousands of volunteers and blood donors that are the heroes.
So as baseball and the NFL re-open their stadiums, and NBA mini-camps resume, remember those men are only playing games. When it comes down to it, it really doesn't matter who wins. It's not life and death; it's just a game.
300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, Maryland 21620 | 410-778-2800 | 800-422-1782